Jon Stewart, Jim Cramer

Stewart ripped Cramer a new one, but neither left the show with a shattered reputation. Cramer dealt with the full force gale winds- his tone alternating between dissent and apology- and at the end seemed like a decent enough guy.

It’s a shame that this is the guy who is taking the brunt of CNBC’s business reporting. Cramer is acting as the fall guy for Rick Santelli who was too chicken-sh*! to come on the show.

Stewart is a superb interviewer. He’s sharp. Those who ignore his intelligence do so at their own peril.

Jim Cramer is a decent guy. Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps he helped inflate the bubble. Perhaps he’s too “inside” the biz to be an impartial reporter. But is that his true responsibility- impartial reporting? Even Stewart compared the CNBC job to that of a snake oil salesman.

Cramer’s a smart (and goofy) guy that took the force of Stewart’s anger tonight. It was entertaining and informative, but it didn’t solve anything. We watched the deck chairs being re-arranged, now perhaps we can worry about saving the ship before it goes down.

UPDATE : A commenter at EW says “Looked like Cramer was on there to sacrifice himself for CNBC, almost to the point of tears.” I couldn’t agree more. He’s bearing America’s frustration with the financial meltdown in general, while Santelli and a whole gaggle of idiots walk away unscathed.

Cramer is nothing more than a corporate man taking one for the team. The true criminals don’t have the cojones to appear. Which is why I’m more sympathetic to Mr. Cramer than most of the other blogger-tough-guys.